The lovely warm weather is not the only thing that comes with the spring season, it brings us strawberries too. The delicious red delights are not only one of the best guilt-free snacks but are also packed with numerous health beneficial compounds, giving us the liberty to chow on them all day long.
Rich in antioxidants, fiber, potassium, magnesium, and vitamin C, it comes as no surprise that health enthusiasts swear by the benefits that strawberries offer. But, one of the biggest problems with this healthy and delicious fruit is that it gets spoiled very quickly.
If you are also sick and tired of throwing away your strawberries just a few days after buying, you have come to the right place!
But, before we share with you the specific methods to keep strawberries fresh for long, take a look at some basic guidelines to increase their life:
- Do not wash all the strawberries when you bring them home – wash only before eating. This is recommended because moisture is one of the biggest enemies of strawberries and will make them rot fast.
- Let the stems on for as long as possible.
- Sort the strawberries and remove any bruised or moldy berries before storing them in the refrigerator.
- Handle the strawberries gently to make sure they do not get bruised.
- Consume the over-ripe strawberries as soon as possible.
3 Ways to Keep Strawberries Fresh
Here are 3 tried and tested ways to prevent strawberries from molding, so you can enjoy your favorite fruit for a long time and can also avoid wasting your money:
Method # 1 –Use an Airtight Container
Follow these steps to keep your strawberries fresh for about a week:
- Inspect the strawberries and remove any bad and moldy ones. Throw away the berries that have mold on them. Remove the bad spots from those that are bruised, but not moldy and eat them right away.
- Line an airtight container with a paper towel, place the strawberries in a single layer, cover with the lid, and then store in the refrigerator. If you don’t have enough containers and hence, need to add more than one layer, make sure to place a paper towel between all the layers.
My mother swears by this product – the Debbie Meyer Green Boxes. Based on popularity I tend to agree with her:
Method # 2 – Use a Glass Jar
This is another simple method to make your fresh strawberries last for about 2 weeks; they may last a bit longer.
All you have to do is to sort through the berries and remove any that are bad or moldy. Transfer the remaining strawberries, unwashed and with stems on, in a clean glass jar that has been thoroughly washed and dried. Cover with the lid and place in the coldest part of your refrigerator (not the freezer!). Make sure the lid of the jar is tight-fitting.
Make sure not to overcrowd the jar. Use more than one jar if you have a large quantity of berries.
Method # 3 – Use Vinegar
The trick to keeping strawberries fresh for more than a week is to kill any mold spores on them and vinegar has just the right pH to do the job. Give your berries a vinegar bath to remove dirt and grime as well as to kill bacteria and mold spores that can grow on them.
To do that, mix one cup of white vinegar with eight cups of water in a large bowl and then add strawberries. Let the berries sit in the mixture for about 3 to 5 minutes; move them gently a couple of times to dislodge the dirt and to get rid of all bacteria and mold spores. Drain the strawberries and rinse them thoroughly with water.
Now line the washed berries on a piece of cloth or paper towel, in a single layer, and let them dry. You can also pat them lightly to make sure there is no water left.
Line a container with a paper towel, place the dried strawberries in, cover with the lid and store in the refrigerator. While it is recommended that you store the berries in the container in a single layer if you do need to have more layers, make sure to add a paper towel between all the layers.
This method will help prevent your strawberries from spoiling for about 2 to 3 weeks.
Bonus Tip
Giving your strawberries a quick bath in hot water is also known to increase their life. Hot water can kill bacteria and delay molding. But, do not soak the strawberries in hot water for too long – a 30-second bath in 125-degree water.
Here you go – no more throwing away your strawberries just a couple of days after buying or gobbling them like a monster in an attempt to consume them before they go bad.
While all these methods will increase the life of strawberries, try them out and see which works best for you!
